Perry brings more than a decade of experience in sports marketing and sales. She was president and owner of KP Sports from 2006 to 2015, when the company was acquired by Learfield, according to her LinkedIN profile.

Learfield, which is headquartered in Texas, manages the multimedia and sponsorship rights for more than 125 collegiate institutions, conferences and arenas across the country. For the past two years, Perry served as its vice president of business development.

In a release Monday, however, she delivered a message aimed at reassuring internal critics who have described a culture of silence that allowed powerful coaches to exploit young athletes.

“I am thrilled to join USA Gymnastics and I look forward to creating a culture of empowerment that encourages our athletes, our members, our families and our staff to have a strong voice as we move this incredible organization to heightened levels of achievement,” Perry said in a statement. “As a lifelong fan of the sport, I will be relentless in our pursuit of athlete safety, collaborative with our board, constituents and corporate partners, and supportive of our members, parents and staff on our journey to making USA Gymnastics the pinnacle of success.”

Perry takes over the national governing body of one of the most successful, popular and well-heeled Olympic sports, an anchor of the summer Games. Last year, the American women's team won a record nine medals in the Rio Olympics.

But the organization came home to controversy after IndyStar revealed USA Gymnastics had a longstanding policy of not reporting all sexual abuse allegations against its coaches. That practice enabled coaches to continue preying on children despite repeated warning signs.

More than 100 women came forward with allegations of sexual abuse against former USA Gymnastics Dr. Larry Nassar. USA Gymnastics learned of allegations against the doctor in 2015, but did not report them to authorities until five weeks later. He quietly left the organization in fall of that year.

Nassar, who pleaded guilty to federal child pornography charges, is still facing myriad criminal charges in state court in Michigan.

In the wake of IndyStar's investigation, USA Gymnastics hired an attorney to review its policies and practices for handling sexual abuse allegations. The results of that review, which were released in June, confirmed many of IndyStar's findings and offered 70 recommendations for improvement.

The board of directors unanimously adopted those recommendations. But the organization has been without a top executive since March, when Penny resigned under pressure from United States Olympic Committee board.

USA Gymnastics Board Chairman Paul Parilla previously said a change in leadership would help the organization "face its current challenges and implement solutions to move the organization forward in promoting a safe environment for its athletes at all levels."

After a monthslong national search, the Indianapolis-based nonprofit's board of directors voted last night to hire Perry.

"We are fortunate to have someone as capable and energetic as Kerry step into this leadership role," Parilla said in a statement. "Her passion for the sport, commitment to athlete safety, and track record of motivating teams to succeed will help guide our vision for the future."

Some in the gymnastics community were hopeful the new leadership will bring change, but California-based attorney John Manly, who represents 105 women who say they were abused by Nassar, said USA Gymnastics "blew it."

"It’s a ratification of the money and medals culture that caused this scandal in the first place," Manly said. "You’d think when you have literally hundreds of little girls and boys who have been molested, you would pick somebody with not only a successful record in business but a successful public record in protecting athletes or protecting people."

When asked about her experience in child safety, Perry said she is "first and foremost" a mom. She said she advocates for all children and people when it comes to safety.

"There is nothing more important to me," she said. "It will continue to be our focus day in and day out. I want all the moms and dads to know that when they drop their children off at a USA Gymnastics gym or club that they have the confidence knowing that we're doing everything at every level of the organization to ensure that their children are safe so they can thrive in a sport that so many of us love."

Dominique Moceanu, a 1996 Olympic gold medalist and one of the more outspoken critics of Penny’s leadership, said she hopes Perry will succeed in bringing about the change that is needed in the sport.

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Former Olympic gold medalist Dominique Moceanu hopes the appointment of Kerry J. Perry to lead Indianapolis-based USA Gymnastics means more support and safety for athletes.(Photo: Robert Scheer/IndyStar)

"I'm trying to look at it as a clean slate, sort of a new beginning," Moceanu said. "But also, I don't want her to forget about everything that's happened. Obviously she's in this new position because of all the change that needed to happen, and a lot of the systematic abuse that took place in our sport. That's why the former president was ousted."

Foremost, Moceanu said, Perry must prove that she truly will be an advocate for the athletes. And that starts with taking a hard look at others in leadership positions at USA Gymnastics.

Moceanu called on Perry to purge the organization of those who didn’t act on complaints from athletes and their parents, as well as those who pressured victims to remain silent or retaliated against those who spoke out about their experiences and concerns.

"That paradigm shift is needed now," she said.

While she likes the things Perry said in a brief statement USA Gymnastics issued about her appointment, Moceanu said only time will tell if Perry really is the right person to turn around the culture inside the Olympic governing body.